


Game of Cards

by Inuy21



Series: Dorian Pavus/Cullen Rutherford [1]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Awkward Tension, If you can call it flirting, Inspired by Fanart, M/M, horrible flirting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-28
Updated: 2016-07-28
Packaged: 2018-07-27 08:16:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7610551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inuy21/pseuds/Inuy21
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dorian is getting fed up with being ignored, so he decides to do something about it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Game of Cards

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MajinNeda](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MajinNeda/gifts).



> This is, once again, my first time writing this pairing. So hopefully it turned out alright!
> 
> Also, this was another writing for the prompt "Want to play a game?"

Dorian paced the small patch of area between the bookshelves where he spends most of his time when trapped at Skyhold. Every so often he would glance out the window that offered him a view of the battlement towers and let out a sigh. How was he to go about this when the man hidden within that tower rarely came out? He supposed he could simply invite the ex-Templar to join him somewhere, but where exactly? 

Dorian pensively tapped a finger at his bottom lip as he slumped into the chair by the window. It wouldn’t seem out of place to visit the Commander in his office, would it? People were going in and out of that tower at all hours, so what would anyone think of another member of the Inquisition paying a visit. It just seemed a little desperate was all. 

If he was going to make a move, then it needed to be soon—the sooner the better. Dorian felt heat rush to his cheeks as he thought about last night. A strained chuckle fell from his lips as he imagined all that bare creamy skin. The way certain areas had turned red in embarrassment as Cullen had fled from The Herald’s Rest. Dorian sucked his bottom lip between his teeth and came to the conclusion that he had to do this now or never.

Pushing up from the seat, he grabbed the deck of cards from the small side table and jogged down the stairs. As his foot landed on the last step, he took a breath and calmed himself before entering the room Solas occupied. He threw the elf a quick smile as he passed, then turned and bowed elegantly before exiting out the side door that would take him directly to Cullen. 

As he traversed the pathway, Dorian gripped the cards in his hand and gathered his confidence. He wasn’t sure if the Commander was ignoring the flirtatious lines being tossed his way or if the man was simply that dense; either way Dorian hadn’t picked up on any negative vibes. So today he was going to make sure Cullen knew of his attraction. 

Dorian groaned as a wave of doubt ran through him, but his feet had already taken him to the Commander’s door and his hand was pushing it open. He had been through much worse in his life than being rejected, that was certain. Of course it never hurt to be on one’s best behavior. With a quick flash of memory, a wide grin settled itself over Dorian’s lips as he stepped into Cullen’s office. 

“Care for a game?” Dorian asked, even as Cullen kept his head pointed down toward the paperwork on his desk. When he got no response, Dorian huffed in annoyance and stepped further into the room. 

Cullen knew, was aware with every fiber of his being of who was in the room--without having to look up, before even hearing that silken voice, Cullen realized. His body stiffened in apprehension, wondering what had brought the man all the way here. Not that he was going to complain, which was exactly why Cullen kept his mouth shut and his head down because he knew there was a huge chance that he would do or say something horrendous. 

“Commander,” Dorian called cheerfully, standing right next to the desk now. He tapped the cards on the wooden surface to attract even more attention. A genuine smile appeared as the blonde head finally looked up. “I was afraid you had gone deaf or merely fallen asleep while on duty,” he teased lightly. Bracing his hands on the desk, Dorian leaned over so he could be just a little closer to the man without being too obvious. 

Cullen breathed out a chuckle, lifting his gaze to look at Dorian. “Not yet, at any rate. What did you need?” Judging by the deck of cards in the Vint’s hands, Cullen braced himself for the answer he would receive. Hadn’t he been humiliated enough last night?

“A game, Commander, that is if you have the time.” Dorian stood back and looked around the tower. “I would hate to interrupt all this business.” He spied the shelves stacked with books and moved to inspect them. 

Tawny eyes watched the mage pick up a book then put it back. “After last night I’ve sworn off card games.” A blush heated his cheeks at just how badly he had played. Of course he wasn’t much of a card player anyway. 

Dorian scoffed, glancing over his shoulder to look at Cullen. “Then humor me.” He saw the grimace pass over the Commander’s face. “Please.”

Cullen straightened, a fist planting on the paper he had been reading. “Just the two of us?”

With a smile, Dorian forgot the book he had been about to pick up and spun to face Cullen. “Of course!” he chirped. “A friendly game between friends.”

Cullen felt his gut clench. Friends, yes, that’s all they were after all. Forget all the flirting that had passed….Shit! He had never reciprocated to any of it, had he? Maker’s balls! Dorian had to think he was the most obtuse person alive. 

“I suppose I could use a break,” he responded with a sigh. “To the tavern?” 

Dorian’s spine stiffened and a hand shot up to stop the Commander from walking too far. “The Herald’s Rest looked busy, what with it being evening and most of our helpers wanting to relax,” he said quickly, maybe a bit too hasty as Cullen arched a brow. “Why don’t we just stay here?”

“Here?” Cullen asked a bit confused as he took in the sparsely decorated tower. “I’m afraid I don’t have the comforts of the tavern here. No warm fire or convenient delivery of food and drinks.” A slight smile tugged at the corner of his scarred lip as he noticed Dorian’s face scrunch in distaste. “And where exactly are we going to sit? Or would you prefer to stand while we play?”

Letting his grey eyes skim the room again, he took in the piles of books and parchments sitting on almost every available surface. One corner held a covered piece of furniture buried under broken boards. Being Commander of the Inquisition apparently meant you weren’t allowed to sit or be comfortable. With a lift of his chin, Dorian saw the planks that made up the second floor—most likely where Cullen slept. 

“I don’t suppose you have a table and chairs upstairs?” Dorian questioned as he brought his gaze back down to the Commander. 

“What would be the point?” Cullen shrugged as it would only be an added luxury. “I’m perfectly capable of going to the kitchen or the tavern if I need a meal.” Under normal circumstances he just grabbed a snack or something he could eat standing up. It wasn’t that he didn’t have the time to sit down and enjoy a meal, just another lingering habit of being in the Templar Order. 

Dorian sighed then moved toward the stool and picked up the pile of books on it. He walked to Cullen and offered the materials to their owner. When the man continued to stand still and look dumbfounded, Dorian rolled his eyes.

“I don’t wish to disorganize your mess, Commander,” Dorian said, a slight smiling tipping his lips up. 

Golden-brown eyes stared at the stack of books. Cullen’s fingers twitched but his arms refused to rise. His tongue darted out to wet drying lips. “Just set them wherever,” he finally managed to get out. 

As Dorian went to shelve the books, Cullen marched to the stool and transferred the parchments to his desk. From the corner of his eye he caught sight of the chair that came with the desk. It too was covered in books and reports. As he collected the scattered parchments he heard Dorian moving closer. 

“Will this suffice?” The words came out a little more clipped than he meant, but when Cullen glanced at him there was a pleased smile on the man’s lips. 

Dorian was too busy watching the other man bending over to catch the bite in the question. Then the Commander was looking at him, face half-obscured by that ridiculous fur mantle. Though Dorian was quite curious as to how warm and soft it would be. 

Cullen cleared his throat, causing Dorian to startle out of whatever thoughts were occupying his mind. “Are you sure you don’t want to go down to the tavern?” he asked while setting a pile of books on the floor. 

“It’s perfectly fine, Commander,” the mage quipped. “If I wanted luxury I would’ve stayed home in Tevinter.”

A half-smile kicked up the corner of Cullen’s lips. “Fair enough. If you’d like you can have the chair.”

Dorian laughed, tears gathering in the corner of his eyes from the outburst. “Well if you’re going to offer then I won’t refuse. I must confess that my bottom has not yet gotten used to unpadded seating.”

Cullen snorted at the jest. “How did you ever survive the journey to Ferelden?” 

“With great hardship, I assure you,” Dorian answered light-heartedly as he moved around the desk to take the Commander up on his offer. 

Cullen had just started scooting the chair forward when a hand brushed over his fingers and up his arm. He stopped and turned his head to look at Dorian, dark blonde brows furrowing in confusion. 

“Go, sit. I believe I can manage to move a chair.”

With a flourish hand-gesture, Cullen moved away and let Dorian take over. He watched as the mage positioned the chair behind the desk, and then adjusted it a few times before he seemed satisfied. As Dorian sat down in a graceful manner, Cullen felt a blush rise up his neck. 

“I could go get drinks,” the offer was half-hearted and more of an excuse to give Cullen a chance to collect his wits. 

Dorian reached across the desk to where the wine bottle sat. He picked it up by the neck and swirled it to find it half-full. “We’ll get by, Commander.”

Cullen swallowed the lump rising in his throat then went to sit on the stool on the opposite side of the desk. Dorian already had the deck of cards back in his hand and was idly shuffling them. A smirk curved the Vint’s lips as he sat back in the cushioned chair and eyed the Commander. 

“Shall we make this interesting?” Dorian suggested as he placed the cards face-down on the desk between them.

~S~

With a pout Dorian announced, “Looks like I lost again.”

Cullen remained frozen, refusing to give into a suspicious look. It had become easier over the course of the last couple hours as Dorian lost more often than not. His thoughts stuttered out as Cullen watched the mage stand to remove the last remaining piece of his outfit as per their bet. The only thing left on the man was his smallclothes, which left very little to the imagination as the bulge beneath twitched. 

Nails bit into his palms, the dull pain drawing Cullen’s attention away from all the exposed dark skin. He let out a nervous cough as he looked toward the door most of his people used. Not that he expected anyone to come in at this late hour—unless there was an emergency—but Cullen needed a calming view to cool his own desire before he exploded. Though he was beginning to think that was Dorian’s plan. Get the Commander riled up to see what he would do. 

When Dorian had suggested to up the ante of their game, for whatever reason Cullen had been unable to refuse. He wasn’t sure if it was the idea of hopefully getting to see the mage stripped naked or the even more perverse idea that Cullen wanted a repeat of last night—without all the bystanders, that was. 

“One last game, Commander? Winner takes all?” When Cullen choked and coughed, Dorian amended, “at least give me a chance to win my clothes back.”

Cullen turned back to see an innocent smile spread across the mage’s face. Hadn’t those grey eyes gotten their fill of his flesh last night? Heat climbed up his neck again and blossomed on his cheeks. Dorian had been flirting with him every chance the Vint got, and now here the man was stripped down to almost nothing! They were both acting like idiots, weren’t they? 

“Cullen?” Perhaps he had gone a bit too far with that last proposition. Dorian had seen how embarrassed the Commander was last night, but he wouldn’t let the man lose again. 

“Fuck it,” Cullen muttered as he shot off the stool and marched around the desk. 

Dorian watched his every move with a bit of confusion as the Commander moved closer. The look put a smirk on Cullen’s lips as he slung an arm over the top of the chair and leaned down to brush his lips against the mage’s. When Cullen started to straighten a pair of hands fisted in his loose shirt to pull him back down. 

Lips smashed together as Cullen was thrown off-balance and had to tighten his hold on the chair. His other hand landed precariously on Dorian’s naked thigh causing both men to moan. Teeth nipped at Cullen’s bottom lip as a hand snaked up the back of his neck and threaded through stiff strands of hair. Dorian’s fingers gripped and pressed against Cullen’s head, angling their position for a more thorough kiss. 

Cullen let his fingers dig into the muscled flesh under his left hand and surged forward, his tongue slipping out to taste Dorian’s lips. The mage’s mouth opened to reciprocate the action, tongues touching languidly before Dorian pulled away. 

“I should have just told you from you the start,” Dorian said, a little breathless as he tipped his head to meet the Commander’s eyes. 

Cullen chuckled, letting his eyes rake down over Dorian’s lean, exposed form. “I’m glad you didn’t.”

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by a piece of artwork: http://oriental-lady.tumblr.com/post/146572227192/you-won-again-commander-w-wait-you-dont


End file.
